PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – In an effort to combat the increase in car theft crimes on both the Dutch side and the French side of the island, the Sint Maarten Police Force(KPSM) together with the Public Prosecutor (OM) met with the Gendarmarie on Thursday 6th February, to come up with plan of approach to solve this growing issue.
The meeting, which was held at the Philipsburg police station, was a means for all parties to come up with a joint solution to help alleviate car theft and formulate a tackle plan to do so. During the meeting information was exchanged of all current cases of car theft reports on both the Dutch side and French side of the island.
In the upcoming weeks, KPSM, the OM and the Gendarmarie will be meeting with the different key stakeholders to derive a plan on how we can better reintegrate cars into circulation. The different stakeholders that will be met with are the insurance companies on the island as well as TEATT’s inspection department.
The hope is to better understand how the processes are currently done and to brain storm on how we all can jointly come up with new and improved ways to register and insure all cars. This will then make it next to impossible for stolen vehicles not to be detected and reported when the thieves try to reintegrate the cars in to the circulation. The proper authorizes can then be immediately alerted and these car thieves can be apprehended.
We know cars are an important part of our lives, almost as important as our homes. Instead of making yourself an easy target take a moment to inspect your vehicle. Take precautionary measures by: always taking your keys with you when you leave your vehicle; always close your windows and doors when you are not in your vehicle; make an effort to park in well lit areas at all times; never leave your vehicle unattended while running; never leave valuables in the vehicle in plain eyes view; protect your vehicle with an antitheft / immobilizer device.
In the end Law Enforcement can only do so much to help prevent your cars from being stolen. Prevention is always better than finding a cure, protect your property by taking the necessary precautionary measures. (see pictures attached)
